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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsiFly GPS for An...iFly GPS for An...Powering STRATUX - battery or power cord?Powering STRATUX - battery or power cord?
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8/6/2017 7:54 PM
 

Crew,

Wondering what folks think about powering the STRATUX ADSB IN system.

On the ground I was practicing with my iFly and STRATUX with a big rechargeable battery.

Not really wanting that in the cockpit for a variety of reason, today I flew with a simple Verizon car cell phone charger and it worked fine.

Any other preferences or techniques for power?  My iFly is on a tablet which is yoke-mounted and also runs off ship's power through the cigarette lighter adaptor system. I have a splitter that can run both the iFly tablet and the STRATUX without blowing the fuse.

Still experimenting with WHERE the STRATUX box should go in my cockpit (Cessna 150M) for a balance of best-results and practical common sense.

Mike Marra, N714AJ

 

 
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8/7/2017 4:24 PM
 

1) Manufacturers of portable chargers lie about the rated capacity of their products.  Don't believe you're getting 5v or 2a just because the box says you are.

2) Most USB cables are inadequate at delivering the necessary power to the Stratux due to severe voltage drop over their flimsy wires.  Buy a known, good quality cable.  A sufficient power supply with an insufficient cable will cause problems, and vice versa.  The Pi will automatically shunt power to peripherals (SDR's, GPS, etc.) if it detects low voltage, so insufficient power issues usually are hidden within "my radio's don't work!" type problems.  The red light on the Pi means voltage is good.  There's a kid in a Stratux forum who is adamant that his Pi is getting sufficient power because he's using a wall charger.  His red light is not on.  Some people can't be helped.

3) There's no such thing as a 5v battery.  Portable "chargers" are full of 3.7v batteries that are connected together and bucked up to 5v.  The charger rating, i.e. "10AH", is the total rating of the 3.7v batteries before the overhead of bucking it up to 5v is considered.  Bucking costs a minimum of 10%, sometimes 20%.  So your "10AH" battery is really capable of providing 8-9AH.  But wait, that's not all!  Battery industry specs allow these batteries to lose up to 20% of their charge volume and still maintain their inflated rating, so after a few months of use your "10AH" charger is now capable of giving you maybe 70% of the rated capacity and still be within spec.  

So the trick to keeping your Stratux happy and powered up for the entire flight is to buy quality components and pad your numbers.  Anker is a popular brand with Stratux users for chargers and cables, and there are a few other quality brands.


Jeff Nokomis Clark, Mooney M20G, iFly app on ASUS ZenPad Z8s, ASUS ZenFone AR, ASUS Windows 10 tablet, Stratux ADS-B w AHRS
 
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8/7/2017 6:43 PM
 

Delete.

 
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8/8/2017 9:14 PM
 

Thank you, Jeff - very helpful.

You guys probably think I am over-cautious for saying this, but I do not wish to add a battery to my cockpit - I think I am going to try using the power source from a cigarette lighter adaptor to run the STRATUX.

I guess I do not want the uncertainty of running out of battery power, nor do I want to introduce another object to the cockpit, so I am going to try going with a power cable. I know many of you detest another cable, but sometimes I fly all day and can see the battery easily running out at a time where I need it most.

Again, thanks for all the fantastic advice and wisdom.

Mike Marra, N714AJ

 

 

 
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8/8/2017 9:21 PM
 

 

Gents,

I decided to go with this cable (which I ops checked in my running SUV) to run my STRATUX vs. the battery.

Why? I am skeptical of manufacturer's claims of longevity of the battery and would prefer the device to be powered by ship's power, especially on very long flying days.

Thank you very much for all the advice, wisdom and recommendations for power. I know many of you do not like extra power cables running about, but I am going to give this a try and see how well it works in the plane. (again)

Regards, Mike Marra, N714AJ

 

 

 
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HomeHomeDiscussionsDiscussionsiFly GPS for An...iFly GPS for An...Powering STRATUX - battery or power cord?Powering STRATUX - battery or power cord?